Improvements in or relating to textile fibre drafting apparatus



Sept. 6, 1960 'J. NOGUERA TEXTILE FIBRE DRAFTING APPARATUS Filed July 14, 1958 United States Patent fifice 2,951,267 Patented Sept. 6, 1960 TEXTILE FIBRE DRAFTING APPARATUS Joseph Noguera, London, England, assignor to Casablancas High Draft Company Limited, Manchester, England, a British company Filed July 14, 1958, Ser. No. 748,265

Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 9, 1957 6 Claims. (Cl. 19-135) This invention relates to textile fibre drafting apparatus of the kind in which a top arm, supported on a rear mounting for pivotal displacement between a lowered working position overlying the drafting field and a raised inoperative position, is arranged to weight and guide consecutive upper drafting rollersof the apparatus.

A main object of the present invention is to provide such an arm with a generally improved locking arragement which can be set with extreme accuracy to hold the arm down in the required working position, but which can nevertheless be very readily released to free the arm for upward pivoting.

Accordingly the invention provides a textile fibre drafting apparatus of the kind specified, wherein the arm is freely pivotable on its rear mounting and a floating spring influenced abutment device or packing piece is arranged to bear, in the working position of the arm, between an abutment fixed at the rear of the apparatus and the arm at a location such that the part of the arm which overlies the drafting field is thereby positively prevented from lifting upwardly about the arm mounting beyond a predetermined limiting position. To permit variation of the aforesaid limiting position, one bearing surf-ace of the abutment device or packing piece is provided by an adjustable screw which is arranged to lock itself in the selected position of adjustment.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, an embodiment thereof will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a part-sectional side elevation through part of a drafting apparatus having three consecutive roller lines and shows a top arm held in the lowered operative working position by the locking arrangement of the invention,

Figure 2 is a part-sectional side elevation showing the rear end of the arm of Figure 1 occupying a. raised or inoperative position,

Figure 3 is a sectional detail view taken on the line IL-III ofFigure 1,

Figure 4 shows a part of the arm locking arrangement in side elevation, and

:Figure 5 is a plan view of Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure l the invention is shown applied to a top arm 1 in a drafting mechanism having three consecutive lines of roller pairs 2 and 3, 4 and 5, 6 and 7. The intermediate roller pair 4 and 5 carry endless aprons 8 in well-known manner, only parts of these aprons being shown for the sake of clarity.

The top arm 1 is of inverted channel section having a flat transverse top wall 111 and dependent side walls 1b which are comparatively shallow over the greater part of the arm length from the front end of the arm, but are deepened or enlarged at the rearward arm end to provide spaced mounting cheeks 1c.

These mounting cheeks 10 have registering apertures therein dimensioned rotatably to fit around a circularsection mounting bar 9 which is fixed on the drafting apparatus behind the drafting rollers and substantially parallel to the axes thereof. The length of the arm 1 is such that, when mounted on the bar 9, it can occupy a lowered operative working position as shown in Figure 1 in which the arm extends over the drafting field and overlies centre necks 2a, 4a and 6a of top rollers 2, 4 and 6 which are of the dual-boss type.

Disposed along the length of the arm between the comparatively shallow side wall parts 112, are roller guiding and weighting units 10, 11 and 12 which again form no part of the present invention. These units 10, 11 and 12 are arranged to engage the respective roller centre necks 2a, 4aand 6a as shown and incorporate spring means 13, 14 and 15 for transmitting weighting pressure to the engaged necks.

The mounting bar 9 for the arm is provided with an axial keyway 9a and diametrically opposite the keyway the bar is provided with a flat 9b. Fitted between the arm cheeks 10 on this mounting bar is a collar having parallel side walls 16 joined in spaced relationship by three countersunk transverse rivets.17 which are disposed at intervals around the collar. For the purpose of engaging the collar on the bar, the collar walls 16 are provided with registering apertures together forming a collar opening 16a which is dimensioned to fit the bar, and a key 16b is arranged to project into each aperture for engagement'in the bar keyway 9a. Each collar wall 16 is, for convenience of manufacture, constituted by a pair of inner and outer plates which are held together in abutting relationship as shown in Figure 5. To locate the collar on the bar 9, a set screw 18 is engaged with a nut 18a, located in recessed parts 16c of the collar wall apertures, and arranged to bear against the fiat 9b of bar 9. The collar can thus be firmly locked on the bar so as to prevent sliding movement of the arm 1 along the bar by abutting the inner surfaces of arm side cheeks 10, without hindering the free pivotal movement of the arm about the bar. The set screw 18 is located to bear on the bar fiat 9b at a' position in front of a plane containing the bar axis and perpendicular to the drafting field so that, on tightening the screw a force is exerted tending to rotate the collar 16 about the bar 9. This brings the front edges of keys 16b into contact with the leading face of keyway 9a to provide positive rotational positioning of the collar on the bar without play. a

The peripheral edges of the collar side walls 16 are correspondingly notched at 16d and 16e to provide two rearwardly directed fixed abutment shoulders on the collar. The'shoulder formed by the abutments 16d is located above the bar axis and rearwardly of a plane containing said axis and perpendicular to the drafting field, whilst the shoulder formed 'by the notches 162 is located below the bar axis and approximately in the aforesaid plane. The space between the collar side walls 16 is preferably closed off by a combined spacer and cover strip 19 which is'bent around between the margins of the collar walls and secured at opposite ends by two of the rivets 17.

To co-operate with the aforesaid abutment shoulders there is provided a floating abutment device or packing piece 20. This device is conveniently constituted by two flat rectangular plates 20a and 2012 which are riveted together face to face, the width of the plates being such that the latter can fit transversely between side cheeks 1c of the arm intermediate the collar and the arm top wall In. The plate 20a is conveniently made longer than the plate 20b and the plates are relatively positioned so that the upper transverse plate edges are flush, whilst the lower edge of the longer plate a projects below the lower edge of the shorter plate 2% as shown. A tapped aperture is provided in the flush upper edges of the two plates to receive a hexagon-headed abutment screw 21 which can be screwed more or less into the tapped aperture according to the arm setting required, as will be later explained.

The floating abutment device 20 is entered between the arm side walls so that the longer plate 20a is remote from the rear arm end whereby the lower edge of this longer plate can seat on a shoulder of the fixed collar. The hexagon-head screw 21 can then be arranged to bear against or abut the under surface of the arm top wall 1a. To prevent undesired rotation of the aforesaid screw, the hexagon-head of the latter, when in the abutment position, is arranged to enter a rectangular recess provided in a small steel pad 22 which is attached to the under surface of the arm top wall 1a at the rear end of the latter. Immediately above the screw head, the arm top wall is provided with an aperture 23 which is smaller than the screw head but which is nevertheless of sulficient size to permit insertion therethrough of a screwdriver. The top of the hexagon screw-head has a transverse diamctral slot for engaging the screw-driver.

Secured to the front face of the longer abutment plate 20a is a trigger member 24 in the form of a bent metal strip which extends forward from the plate beneath the arm top wall 1a and thence upwardly through a slot in the arm, the extremity 24a of the projecting trigger end being bent over at approximately 90 to prevent accidental withdrawal of the trigger through the slot. A leaf spring 25 housed within the arm is arranged to press upwardly son the trigger member 24 as shown, in a manner which tends to press the projecting end 24a of the latter further through the slot in the arm top wall and, at the same time, to rotate the lower abutment plate edges inwardly of the collar member.

In the construction described, the screw-head of the floating abutment device 20 is arranged to press against the top wall of the arm in a location which is set back in relation to the plane perpendicular to the drafting field and containing the axis of bar 9. As a result, when the arm is lowered into the working position shown in Figure 1 and the floating abutment located so that the lower edge of abutment plate 20a seats in the upper collar shoulder whilst the hexagon screw-head abuts against the top wall of the arm, the part of the arm which overlies the drafting field will be positively prevented from lifting upwardly about the arm mounting beyond a predetermined limiting position. By providing for adjustment of the hexagon-headed screw in the floating abutment device and providing for the precise location of collar 16, and thus also of the collar abutment shoulder 16d on bar 9 as aforesaid, the maximum distance which the arm can move away from the drafting field in its working position can be varied very accurately.

In order to release the arm, the forward end of the latter is pressed downwardly slightly to relieve the pressure on the head of the abutment screw, whereupon the projecting end 24a of the trigger mechanism can easily be manipulated to swing the abutment device 20 out of engagement with the upper collar shoulder. The arm can then be'freely raised to the non-operative position shown in Figure 2 in which the operative lower abutment plate edge will engage the lower abutment shoulder formed by notches 162 on the collar to locate the arm. To return the arm once more to the working position, the arm is merely pulled downwardly until the operative abutment plate edge reaches the upper collar shoulder 16d, whereupon slight further downward pressure on the arm, against the action of the weighting springs, enables the said operative plate edge to clear the corner of shoulder 16d and re-engage this shoulder.

In order to adjust the working setting of the arm, the abutment device is released from working engagement with the collar whereupon the device can be pushed downwardly until the hexagon screw-head is clear of the recess in pad 22. The screw 21 can then be easily turned inwardly or outwardly by a screw-driver as aforesaid by as much as necessary or, for fine adjustment, by as little as one-sixth of a turn.

I claim:

1. In a textile fibre roller drafting apparatus, the combination of a roller weighting and guiding arm which overlies the drafting field from a rear pivotal mounting, abutment means fixed to the apparatus below the rear end of the arm and a free packing piece the height of which is adjustable and which bears between the rear end of said arm and said underlying abutment means to limit angular displacement of the forward arm end away from the drafting field, said abutment means incorporating spaced upper and lower abutments which can be alternatively engaged by the lower. end of said packing piece to locate the arm respectively in a lowered working position and a raised inoperative position.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which an upper end of the packing piece bears against a transverse wall part of the arm and is constituted by the head of a screw which is adjustably screwed into the packing piece.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 in which the screw head is non-round and a pad having a complementary non-round hole therethrough is secured to the under-surface of the transverse arm wall part nonrotatably to receive said screw head, there being an aperture formed through the transverse arm wall in register with said pad hole to enablea screwdriver to engage the screw head and the depth of said pad being such that the latter can readily be withdrawn from the screw head for purposes of screw adjustment by depressing the forward end of the arm to lift the rear arm end away from the screw head.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the packing piece is constituted by fiat rectangular plate means having a lower seating edge for engaging an abutment and an upper edge provided with a tapped aperture to receive said adjustable screw.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 4 further including a trigger member attached to the plate means and extending forwardly therefrom and thence upwardly to project through a slot in the transverse arm wall and spring means pressing upwardly on the trigger member in a manner which tends to project the latter further through the arm slot and, at the same time, to swing the lower seating edge of the plate means firmly into engagement with an abutment.

6. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which dependent side cheeks on the arm rotatably engage a mounting bar and the abutment means is constituted by a collar secured on said bar between the arm side cheeks and having circumferentially spaced peripheral shoulders forming upper and lower abutrnents which are alternatively engageable by said packing piece to locate the arm respectively in a lowered working position and a raised inoperative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,675,587 Raible et al. Apr. 20, 1954 2,688,162 Balmes Solanas Sept. 7, 1954 2,787,025 Balmes Solanas Apr. 2, 1957 2,870,488 Werth Jan. 27, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 711,425 Great Britain June 30, 1954 765,262 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1957 

